NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Public Schools are continuing a shared athletic director post with Hoosac Valley Regional School District that's proven to be successful for the past several years. 

 

"We had a really exciting fall. Things have carried over into the winter," AD Jeff Puleri told the School Committee on Tuesday. "I expect us to have a very vibrant spring as well." 

 

Drury High School currently hosts eight programs across three seasons: boys and girls soccer, volleyball, cheer, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball. 

 

Drury is a cooperative guest in 11 different sports at McCann Technical, Mount Greylock and Hoosac valley which is now hosting football.

 

"We have some wonderful partners. We're able to give our students some opportunities," Puleri said. "We are currently pretty equitable with offerings for boys and girls ... our co-ed unified basketball was, without a doubt, probably the best move that I've made as an athletic director. It just brought such a sense of community to both high schools."

 

The co-ed unified program has been switching between Hoosac and Drury but he thinks it is so "solid and strong" that he's anticipating starting a one specifically for Drury. 

 

Volleyball has also been running strong. The expectation was a participation in the low 20s but attracted 45 students between the two schools. 

 

"It got really big and swelled quickly," Puleri said, allowing the schools to field a middle school team, junior varsiety team and a varsity team. Those numbers could change as the seniors depart next spring but it's possible the two schools could field their own teams. 

 

He said the schools are having "unprecedented successes all the way across the board in a lot of our programs."

 

Baseball made it to the final four last year and took the Western Mass championship for the first time in many years, and boys basketball also advanced to the final four. 

 

"We are fully expecting some deep runs this winter of both our programs, boys and girls are off to fantastic starts. I fully expect them to be competing for Western Mass and state championship," Puleri said. 

 

The schools are engaging the students to find what they want, which resulted in the "groundswell of support" for volleyball. But the numbers can fluctuate pretty rapidly so it's difficult to make long-term predictions, he said. 

 

"We're only as good as the data that's provided to us, but we are trying to gage engage our students on a daily basis in that aspect as well," the director said. 

 

He said the landscape of high school athletics has changed dramatically and it continues to change annually, driven by numbers and by facilities. But its challenge being faced by school districts across the state. 

 

The changes in enrollment numbers are eliminating JV programs, with Puleri noting the county's largest high school, Pittsfield High, no longer has a JV basketball team. 

 

"It is a statewide issue that continues to impact those type of things," he said. "As I said, healthy programs can see declines quickly. Football numbers two years ago were in the mid/high-30s. Last year, we ended the season with 21 students."

 

The decline in numbers, and seniors, can mean a weaker team, and students don't necessarily want to play on an unsuccessful team. Combined, this can lead to a dramatic drop in participation from one year to another. 

 

There's a shrinking pool of officials and referees as well across the nation, he said, caused in large part by fan behavior. 

 

Puleri said aging facilities are also an issue, pointing to Drury aging bleachers, both in the gym and on the field. The city offers some better facilities but these also offer challenges in terms of transportation. And the school needs to be equitable in sports for boys and girls. 

 

"I do believe that we are probably at the minimum number of offerings where I think Drury can remain vibrant right now," he said. "That doesn't mean that we can't add or subtract, but we just don't want to be competing within our own district with some of those students."

 

In response to questions about how he splits his schedule, Puleri said it's about 50/50 during the day, and he tries to make every game, but Hoosac has a few more sports at the moment. Assistant Athletic Director John Moore pulls a lot of weight at Drury and it would beneficial to have an equivalent at Hoosac, he said.

 

"I just want to make sure that the committee can hear this from me, on the shared services, as the athletic director within both districts, I am beyond grateful for this opportunity," Puleri said. "It's something I've always wanted to do. I feel, personally, that it's worked out really, really well."